Lawyers for a Turkish opposition newspaper have appealed a court ruling to detain two journalists on spying charges over a report that suggested Ankara had shipped weapons bound for rebels in Syria.

The lawyers for the Cumhuriyet newspaper said on November 30 the charges contradicted Turkey's constitution and laws.

A court in Istanbul on October 26 ordered the arrest of Cumhuriyet's editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, and the newspaper's Ankara correspondent, Erdem Gul.

The two face charges that include willingly helping a terrorist group and "divulging state secrets" after they released footage in May that allegedly showed the country's secret services sending weapons to rebels in Syria.

The images caused a political storm in Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing revenge.

The Paris-based press rights group Reporters Without Borders has condemned proceedings against the journalists as "political persecution" and has urged the court to dismiss the charges.